Clinics & Services

Child Health Care

(0-5 years of age)Immunisations by practice nurse - appointments will be sent

Midwife/Antenatal Clinic

By appointment to see the midwife.

Cervical Smears

There is a recall system for women age 20-65. Results are sent to you by post. Do not be alarmed if you do not think you need a smear when called for – call and let us know. The practice nurses will carry out cervical smears for the surgery.

Minor SurgerySessions are held in Askern, which are available for all patients. Unfortunately due to space we are unable to hold this in Conisbrough at this time. These sessions are held weekly and any GP/reception staff can book you in to this service.

Yorkshire Carpal Tunnel Service

The Yorkshire Carpal Tunnel Service has now been running since March 2013. In this time we have seen over 80 patients, who have come to see us to have their surgery performed.

We have two excellent consultants working alongside us, Mr Ajit Shetty and Mr Bernd Ketzer, who are both NHS Orthopaedic Surgeons. We also run the service with an experiences Scrub Nurse, Dave Spencer, and a HCA from the practice.

Patients are referred by their GP to the service usineg a letter and a scoring sheet. They are then contacted and booked into a clinic at either Askern or Mexborough, to have their surgery performed. We offer weekday and weekend appointments which help people that work.

The service has been extremely successful, and we welcome all new referrals.

Travel Vaccinations

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below:

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - at least 6 weeks before you travel - as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Travel Health Questionnaire

To help us offer the appropriate advice, please fill out the online form before coming to see the nurse.

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

Why GP Practices sometimes charge fees

Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?

It is important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS.

They are self-employed and they have to cover their costs - staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc - in the same way as any small business. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for non-NHS work, the fees charged by GPs contribute towards their costs.

What is covered by the NHS and what is not?

The Government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients, including the provision of ongoing medical treatment.

In recent years, however, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work.

Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that information provided to them is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients:

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions:

life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies

reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with disability living allowance and attendance allowance

medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering

Prescriptions for drugs used overseas eg malaria tablets etc

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

With certain limited exceptions, for example a GP confirming that one of their patients is not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients.

Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, for example for insurance purposes, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?

We suggest fees that GPs may charge their patients for non-NHS work (ie work not covered under their contract with the NHS) in order to help GPs set their own professional fees.

However, the fees suggested by us are intended for guidance only; they are not recommendations and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates we suggest.

Can a fee be charged by a GP for the completion of cremation forms?

It is important to differentiate between death certificates (which must be completed free of charge) and cremation forms.

Cremation forms, unlike death certificates, require doctors to make certain investigations which do not form part of their NHS duties.

A deceased person cannot be cremated until the cause of death is definitely known and properly recorded. Before cremation can take place two certificates need to be signed, one by the GP and one by another doctor.

Cremation form 4 must be, as stated, completed by the registered medical practitioner who attended the deceased during their last illness.

Form 5 must be completed by a registered medical practitioner who is neither a partner nor a relative of the doctor who completed form.

A fee can be charged for the completion of both forms 4 and 5 as this does not form part of a doctor's NHS duties.

Doctors normally charge these fees to the funeral director, who, generally passes on the cost to the family. Doctors are also entitled to charge a mileage allowance, where appropriate.

The fees for cremation forms 4 and 5 (which are agreed with the National Association of Funeral Directors, NAFD, the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, SAIF, and Co-operative Funeralcare) are available on our website.

Can VAT be charged by GPs for some non-NHS services?

Since 1 May 2007, certain medical services have become subject to Value Added Tax (VAT). This follows a European Court of Justice Ruling in 2003, and subsequent changes to VAT rules introduced by HM Revenue & Customs.

The original Court ruling made it clear that, where the main purpose of a medical service is the 'protection, maintenance or restoration of the health of an individual' then that service should continue to be exempt from VAT. All heathcare provided either through the NHS, or the private sector, is therefore not subject to VAT.

However, where the purpose of a medical service is not, primarily, the treatment of a patient (for example, the completion of medical insurance reports by a doctor), the Court ruled that this service should be subject to VAT.

Such GP reports have been subject to VAT since 1 May 2007. In the UK this applies where a medical practitioner's income exceeds the VAT registration threshold.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients.

Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork home at night and weekends.

I only need the doctor's signature - what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true.

In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient's entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors' regulatory body) or even the Police.

What will I be charged?

We recommend that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be.

It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge, but we produce lists of suggested fees which many doctors use. Surgeries often have lists of fees on the waiting room wall based on these suggested fees. Doctors will also have to bear the costs of Insurance for working a GP including carrying out these Non NHS work .Insurance yearly costs per doctor may vary from £8000 to upto £25,000 per annum

What can I do to help?

Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge.

If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.

Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight. Urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost more.

What type of report work doesn't have to be done by my GP?

There is some medical examination and report work that can be done by any doctor, not only a patient's GP. For this work there are no set or recommended fees which means doctors may set their own fees. We offer guidelines only.